Why are we running out of medical oxygen? | The Real Reason!

Real reasons about why we are running out of Medical Oxygen

We are going to talk about a different topic yet related for all of us on a broader scale. Wishing everyone good health and safety. The 3rd wave of Covid is deadly. Please wear a mask and sanitize regularly. Most of us might be thinking we are running out of oxygen. But, that is a myth and not the entire picture. 

EG II & Government Production of Oxygen

It is logical to think that way because who knew we might need so much oxygen in such a short span of time. The problem is not in the demand and supply. But, it is in the distribution. Let us have a look at the report from Times of India which shows the absolute numbers and I quote:

Before the COVID-19 outbreak last year, the annual national demand was about 700 MT/day. As of now, the second wave of COVID-19 is estimated at about 5500 MT/day." The COVID-19 outbreak spiked the volume of this information to 2,800 MT/day last year.

EG II and government sources say that India produces 7,287 MT of medical oxygen daily, with a buffer stock of about 50,000 MT.

After knowing this, I don’t think we have a production problem. The major problem is with the allocation and distribution. EG II is a committee that was formed for this in March 2020.

Logistics

Another bottleneck is logistics. It is not so easy to transport oxygen from one place to another. There are special and strict protocols that include a lot of safety measures to follow while moving oxygen from point A to point B. 

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Also, there are not many tankers or trucks prepared for this. There are plenty but considering the demand we need more. This has caused officials to scratch their heads on how to move oxygen safely.

Storage of Oxyegn

The next factor which comes into the picture is the storage of oxygen. Most of the government hospitals don’t have copper pipelines to supply oxygen. They used cylinders as another option. It does work, but when there are multiple patients it is very inefficient at the same time. To top that all, we do not have enough cylinders as well. The ones in power didn’t think about this demand for cylinders. 

Zooming out, when you don’t have pipelines, you’re resorting to cylinders. With that in use, there are not enough cylinders which mean we can’t supply enough oxygen as needed. I don’t think I need to tell you what happens when people don’t get oxygen. A tragedy happens.

The Good Side

The only good thing that I have got to share with you all is that there are several attempts in order to ramp up the production and storage. More cylinders have been ordered, logistical challenges are being faced. Hopefully, EGII will be able to use resources efficiently in each and every place. 

The only thing we can do is hope that these horrific days will soon end. In the interim, save yourself by wearing a mask. Additionally, if a vaccine is available near you, please get vaccinated.

Please consider sharing this article with everyone so that they know about these problems at a deeper level as well. Thank you for reading.